The Lunar Prospector was launched by NASA in January 1998 with the primary objective of mapping the Moon's surface and analyzing its composition. One of its key goals was detecting the presence of frozen water in the permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. Throughout its mission, Lunar Prospector transmitted significant findings, including evidence of water ice in these craters, which revitalized interest in lunar exploration and paved the way for future missions aimed at understanding the Moon's resources.

As its mission came to an end in July 1999, NASA decided to perform a controlled impact of the spacecraft into the Moon. This decision was made to avoid potential contamination of the Moon's surface by the spacecraft, as well as to gather additional scientific data during the impact. The crash site was carefully chosen to ensure it would not interfere with proposed future missions and was located near the lunar south pole. The impact occurred after a series of successful maneuvers that ensured the spacecraft's final trajectory would yield useful scientific insights for years to come.

The ending of Lunar Prospector's mission with a controlled crash was a closely monitored event. Scientists hoped to glean final insights from the data generated through the impact event itself. The mission was not only significant in gathering data about the Moon's surface but also important for understanding the Moon's potential as a resource for future human exploration. The information gathered during the Lunar Prospector mission contributed to the larger narrative of lunar science and exploration.